Letter Three

What an incredible week here at the MTC. I know I say that all the time, but this one was especially fantastic. I am finally learning how to have the Spirit with me all the time!! What an incredible experience that is. I feel so honored to know that I was called by the Lord to serve Him as diligently as possible.

Elder David F. Evans of the Seventy came and spoke to us last Tuesday at the devotional. What an experience that was!! He spoke about being exactly obedient missionaries. He says if we want to see miracles in our lives, that is the only way to do it. He also told us that there used to be 1 or 2 Apostles a week that would assign mission calls. But that now they have all 12 Apostles on duty at least 3 days a week, and they are still falling behind. What an incredible problem to have!! Finally, he talked about increasing our faith and how the only way to do it is to act. We HAVE TO ACT on the impressions we get from the Holy Ghost and also that acting is the only way to get rid of fear and doubt! The Holy Ghost certainly replaces those feelings.

We had in-field training on Friday! That's where you go the Friday before you leave, and they basically teach you all the things that they did not teach you in classes! We learn door approaches, working with members, and basically everything else we did not know about before. It is SUCH a long day, from 8-7. But totally worth it! I won't lie, I was falling asleep in parts of it. But I still learned so much and I cannot wait to get out there to Vancouver!!

Friday night after the training was the most Spiritual night I have had thus far in the MTC. I do not even know what it was, but I spent that entire day trying my best to be an exact obedient missionary in the things I said and did. Blessings were just pouring toward me. Prayers were answered all throughout the day and I received incredible personal revelation all day. Heavenly Father is so much aware of us and He knows the effort we are putting in to be the best person we can become. I know this for a fact!

So, it has only been 2 weeks since the new flow of younger missionaries has been in here. And guess what? We are already at 3 overflows, where when I first got here we only had 1! The overflows are for when we have devotionals and firesides. They say by next month we will be up to 6 overflows. They keep telling us statistics that blow my mind! I cannot believe I get to be a part of this incredible time that will forever be a changing point in history!!

So, KAILA IS BAPTIZED NOW??? I am so excited!! Please somebody send me pictures and lots of details! Kaila, I sent you a letter last week but I will be sure to send you another one when I get to Canada. You are such an incredible girl and I am so glad I got to know you before I left!

Linda Burton, the General Relief Society President came and spoke to us in relief society on Sunday. It is so fantastic to see all the wonderful people that are sent here to teach us! She is such an inspired woman, and I am so grateful that I was in her presence. We got to meet her after and talk to her for a few minutes. She is certainly called of God! She ALSO talked about the impact that the age change is going to have on the WORLD. She said some things that really stuck out to me and helped me realize what I am now a part of! She said her husband used to be a President of a mission in France. Last year they averaged about 5 new missionaries coming in each new transfer. She says by the end of next month, they have 88 new missionaries coming in at least every transfer!! So awesome!!!!!! They have no idea how the church is going to provide cars, apartments, food, trainers, and all sorts of thigns for all these missionaries. But the Lord does not make an announcement like this without a plan, that's for sure!!

I sure am going to miss being able to play basketball and volleyball everyday. That was such a fun part of the MTC! I feel like I am in fantastic shape because 50 minutes of my day is ALWAYS scheduled for the gym. I will certainly miss playing sports with all the incredible people I have met here!

So, guess what disease has hit the MTC? Hand Foot and Mouth! And guess who was the first sister in our building to get it? Yep, that's me. But it's ok, I am still headed out to Vancouver in the morning! I got to go off campus to go to a doctor's office, it was so awesome! Being in the real world was super weird, cause I have only known the MTC for 3 weeks. But everything is good now, and I cannot wait to get out there! I am now over the flu too, so that's good. Nothing will stop me from helping this work move forward! Shall we not go on in so great a cause????

I want to give each of you a challenge. If you get nothing from this email, at least take this. PLEASE make a Mormon.org profile if you have not already. Put a lot of thought into it. Then, share it as much as possible. Post it on your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, whatever! Get it out there! Invite others unto Christ every single day of your life! I promise you will be blessed for your efforts. As a representative of Jesus Christ on this earth, I can promise you great blessings will come as you put forth effort to share the truth to those who "know not where to find it".

We learned about how we as missionaries have the power of discernment that we are entitled to. Which means, that my teacher would have a harder time teaching us, then we would have teaching him. We are entitled to know the needs of these investigators through the Holy Ghost, and how great of a gift that is! Through the knowledge of their needs we are better able to prepare a lesson to help them come unto Christ.

I love being a missionary!!! And I am so grateful to all of you who have written me this past week! Just a reminder that all letters from now on will be sent to Canada! My mom will put on the Mission office address and then I will send out the home address when I get one for my first area. Thank you so much for all your support. I love you all so much. And for those who are reading this who may not be members of this church yet, I would love for you to write me with any questions please! I can promise you that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can help you with ANYTHING you are having problems with in your life. This is the way to happiness in this life and in the next. I love you guys, and I will write you from Canada next week!!

Love,

Sister Biggs

Letter Two

Time is blowing by here in the MTC!! I will just start right off into my letter I guess!

I love getting on and seeing lots of emails from people! But just a reccomendation...if you have the chance, please copy that email and send it through DearElder and I will get it that same day, just like an email. The only reason I say this, is because I only have 30 minutes of email time and it is hard to be able to write and read them all. You guys are incredible though, and I greatly appreciate the support!!

I got my travel information for Canada finally! I leave next wednesday the 30th at 11:00am. So I will not be getting any letters that come after Tuesday to the MTC. Just keep that in mind :)

First things first, Brother Blake Scoresby was one of my teachers here for Zone Teaching! It was so great to see him. Also, Derek do you know Sister Kaitlyn Dearton? She is a teacher here also and said she served with you! Always cool to find a connection with back home.

Last week on Wednesday I was having a hard time. Just a lot of stress and homesickness that hit all at once. After a rough night, I asked some Elders in my district to give me a blessing the next morning. Elder Cluff and Elder Silva gave me a blessing. What an incredible experience that was!!!! I can promise you that these young men hold the Priesthood authority of God and that blessing gave me such great comfort. Then, I got the flu a couple of days ago. Super fun! But with a sickness that would have ususally knocked me out cold at home, I was strengthened through faith in the Lord to be able to press forward and continue my work without missing anything! Although I felt terrible and I had no voice, I was still able to perform my duties as a missionary. I received a blessing from Elders Tanner and Berg for that, and I have started improving ever since. I still cannot exactly speak, but I am feeling a little bit better!

So, we have an MTC devotional every Tuesday night and oh my gosh! Elder Holland was the speaker last week!!!! I was 50 feet from an apostle of the Lord (and my favorite one at that!). What an incredible experience that was. Among the many things he spoke about, one of them was that there is no more exciting time to serve a mission than now. Plenty of dipensations have failed and fallen away. But this is the dispensation that WILL succeed, and we WILL see the coming of the Lord in this one! He told us that as missionaries in these last days, we have a greater responsibility than Ammon, Jeremiah, and even Isaiah. What a responsibility that is to live up to! He yelled almost at the top of his lungs about how sick he was of hearing about returned missionaries going innactive from the church. With tears in his eyes, he said "If I see you after your mission, you BETTER have at least one convert. And it BETTER be you!" (All this while hitting the podium of course). What a powerful talk that was! He told us that no industry would put their future in the hands of 19 year olds, unless it was the only true industry of God. How true that is! We are set apart to represent Jesus Christ on this earth and I am so honored to wear that name tag on my chest! He told us some incredible statistics. The MTC has a capacity of about 3,200 missionaries. By next summer, we will be up to at least 7,000 missionaries. He dedicated two brand new buildings for housing, and they will be having to use part of BYU housing to house missionaries! There is just not enough room for the incredible influx!!! What an incredible problem to have!!!

We have learned lately that we need to be teaching people, not lessons. We are all about teaching through the Spirit. We must teach to people's needs, and who knows these wonderful people better than the Spirit?? Definitely not me! I have found that as I listen to the Spirit, I am able to have things revealed to me about these people that I would have not been able to otherwise find out.

In relief Society on Sunday, we sang "I hope They Call Me on a Mission". But the words were changed to "I'm glad they called me on a mission". Tears came to my eyes as I remembered myself singing that song in primary years ago, not knowing where I would be today. I am SOO glad that the Lord is allowing me to serve Him in this manner.

Richard is still planning on getting baptized on the 10th!! We taught him the Word of Wisdom yesterday, and he says he smokes like a chimney. But he promised to do his best to quit because he knows that that is what he needs to do to follow the Savior. How awesome it is to be a part of such a conversion!

So the other night, we are sleeping and all of he sudden the fire alarm goes off in our building. At 1am, we had to run outside in -10degrees and wait for them to fix a blown pipe. So we all gathered into the gym and slept on the gym floor! It was not fun at all! So after 2 hours, we go back to our dorms and try to fall back asleep. The next day, we are in the middle of lunch and the alarm in the cafeteria goes off. Didn't get to finish lunch! Again, hate fire alarms! But it was a fun experience. :)

 I am so honored to be out here. Thank you all so much for the incredible support and prayers. I can certainly feel them as I serve the Lord daily! Stay strong out there. I challenge each of you to preach the Gospel in any way possible. Use Facebook, text messages, whatever it takes to help others come unto Christ!

I will not get anything that comes to the MTC after Tuesday, so if you have a letter then either send it before then, or send it to the address for Vancouver that my mom will put in this message. I love you all so much! This church is true. If you want to find out for yourself, then just test it. Just exercise a particle of faith, and the Lord can help you see the truth too. :) 
I love you!

Love, Sister Biggs

First week at MTC

These were some of Ashlyn's first pictures at the MTC. It looks like she is having so much fun and hard at work! They study all the time! She's leaving soon but has made some amazing friends in her first week. Enjoy!

Letter One

Well, what an incredible first week here at the MTC. I don't even know where to begin.

                  The Lord has blessed me more in these past few days than any other time in my life that I can recall. I guess if there is one thing I have learned in this past week, it is about the importance of prayer. And I say that with no sense of lightness. I have said more prayers this last week than I can ever remember. I said over 20 yesterday! We pray when we wake up, before and after meals, study time, companion study time, teaching, and whenever something hard is going on. It is incredible to watch my relationship with my Heavenly Father grow so deeply each and every day. How could I have gone my entire life without the blessing of deep and sincere prayer in it? I certainly couldn't!

     To get things out of the way first, I want to let everyone know about DearElder.com. You just look for me and you can write a letter and I get it that day! They told us to let you all know about it. But if you do use it, please be sure that you write your address somewhere in the letter, otherwise I will not be able to write you back.

     I cannot express the honor I feel of wearing the name tag with Jesus Christ's name under mine. What an incredible honor that I thank my Heavenly Father for everyday. I love my companion, her name is Sister Nielson. And my roommates are her, along with Sister Tutt, Sister Hughes, and Sister Hatch. I am convinced that the Lord certainily puts people in our lives for a reason, because there is no way I was put with these sisters by accident. Everyday I am blessed by all of them. What incredible examples they are to me!

     I am also convinced that Heavenly Father knows exactly our needs when it comes to giving us teachers. My permanent teachers are Brother Fairclough and Sister Hutchings. But this past Monday, we had a sub Brother Prawitt. He was such an answer to my prayers!! I have been having a hard time with finding out why the people I teach NEED the Gospel. Sure, I know that they need it and that it will change their lives. But the important thing is that THEY find out why they need it, and why they literally cannot live without it. Brother Prawitt, inspired, taught me personally how to ask inspired questions to my investigators. What a blessing that was. The Spirit was teaching me so many things in that moment, that I almost became overwhlemed. I was teaching one of my investigators about 5 minutes later, and it was certainly the best lesson thus far. What an inspiration! I am currently teaching 4 investigators, and it is such a humbling experience. Their names are Richard, Shawn, Steve, and Sarah. We just committed Steve to baptism!!!!!! So exciting!! We are working on the others. I am very excited for our lessons tomorrow, as I feel they are very inspired from the Holy Ghost. I have come to learn that it is LITERALLY impossible to teach an investigator effectively without the Spirit. It is like trying to sing without vocal chords. I know this from experience. After a rough morning and a rough start to my lesson planning, I went into an investigator's home without feeling the Spirit. What a failure of a lesson that was. And it was something that I could have stopped too!! But I have promised myself and promised God that that would never happen again. As we pray before knocking on the doors, I am able to feel the Spirit overwhelm me and teach me the things that the investigator needs to hear. Sarah is a total hippie and believes that we need to bring in positive energy to our sould by doing chants and wearing certain clothing on certain days. She is hilarious. I love her so much and my love for her grows each and every time we teach her. We are certainly making progress, she even told us last visit that she thinks there actually is a God after what we have taught her! What progress!!

     Brother Hemingway, is a man who works with the social networking in the church. He came and spoke at our fireside on Sunday night and it was absolutely incredible. I challenge each of you to use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and any other social networking you have to preach the Gospel! Heavenly Father created each of those so that we can help others reach the Gospel! He told so many incredible stories about people who came to the church thruogh Facebook. PLEASE be a part of one of those stories. 

     I cannot express my love for the Savior adequately enough in words. I love this Gospel and I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at this moment in my life. I love knowing that I am a set apart representative of Christ, and that He is there with me every moment that I allow Him to be. We just came from a temple session right before this. We get to go every P-Day in the MTC! How increidble is that!! It was such a Spiritual experience for me. I cannot express the overwhelming feeling of peace that I felt in theTemple. But I know that it was the Holy Ghost.

     To anybody who may be reading this, I want you to know of my testimony of this church. I wish each of you could come visit the MTC, because I assure you that even that would show to you the truthfulness of this Gospel. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in fact the only true church on the earth today. There are plenty of churches that have great truth to them, and we admire those churches. But this church now has the Priesthood power of God, restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I have learned SO much about this incredible man this past week, and I hope to gain just a fraction of the faith he had in God by the end of my mission. I want Helaman 3:35 to define me after my mission. I hope to gain a knowledge of this incredible truth line upon line, precept upon precept. This work WILL move forward, with or without us. Heavenly Father WILL win the battle against Satan. And the wonderful thing, is that WE get to choose which team we want to be on. I challenge each of you to pray and to know what side you want to be on. I will be spending the next 18 months of my life helping others realize not only what side they should be on, but what side they NEED to be on. No matter what problems we are dealing with in this life, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has answers to them. It is the only way to happiness in this life, and especially to happiness in the next. I absolutely love having the title of "Sister" as I walk the halls of the MTC. What an honor. I have so much more to tell you, but unfortunately I am out of time. I love you all and I appreciate the letters I have received thus far. I assure you they help me as I move forward in this incredible journey. My mom will have my address attached to this one. Thank you all for your support.

The days are long, the weeks are short, and 18 months will never be enough.

Love,

Sister Biggs

Airport goodbyes

Some of Ashlyn's friends and family came to see her off at the airport before she left to Provo. She met another sister missionary there who was also called to the Vancouver, Canada mission! What are the chances! The airport was filled with at least 5 other missionaries and their families ready to send them off to serve the Lord. It was so inspiring! 

She didn't shed a tear. She was ready to go. She has been ready for a while. We're so proud!

I'm going to miss my girl so much! She's going to be such an incredible missionary!

No more hugging boys that aren't her family for 18 months! Big brother Joe had to settle for the handshake.

This was the other sister that was called to the same mission. So cute!

Farewell Open House

Some of Ashlyn's friends that came to see her before she left to the MTC. She has the best friends and family in the world! Thank you for all the love and support!